Hambleton Warren
MSA SC 3520-18133
Biography:
Hambleton Warren enlisted in the Fourth Independent Company on February 19, 1776. [1]
The nine companies of Colonel William Smallwood’s battalion were stationed in Baltimore and Annapolis while the independent companies were divided between the Eastern and Western shores. Warren and the Fourth Independent were centered at Oxford in Talbot County under the command of Captain James Hindman. [2]
In July, Maryland was asked to support the Continental Army in New York in anticipation of a British attack. Smallwood’s battalion and three of the independent companies, including the Fourth, marched to New York to offer support for the Battle of Brooklyn (also known as the Battle of Long Island), the first full-scale engagement of the war. The independent companies arrived in New York near the end of July. [3]
On August 27, 1776, Warren and the rest of his company, along with his other Maryland comrades, fought at the Battle of Brooklyn, distinguishing themselves as the "Maryland 400."
Outflanked by British forces, the American forces attempted to retreat through Gowanus Creek under heavy fire. To keep the British at bay, Maryland troops launched a series of charges while the rest of the Continental Army escaped. Two hundred and fifty-six of Warren’s fellow soldiers were killed or captured as a result of their bravery.
Warren survived the battle, but saw little combat with the Fourth Independent. Hindman defended his company against allegations of non-participation, and blamed their orders for preventing them from taking a more active role. [4]
Following the battle of Brooklyn, the Fourth Independent fought at the Battle of White Plains, a continuation of the retreat from New York and an American loss.
Warren reenlisted around the end of 1776, and was placed in the Second Maryland Regiment in the company of Captain Archibald Anderson, the former first lieutenant of the Fourth Independent Company. Congress had required Maryland to raise eight new regiments as part of the force of 88 regiments of the Continental establishment. In order to meet this, the Fourth Independent combined with the other independent companies to form the Second Maryland Regiment commanded by Colonel Thomas Price. [5]
Warren did not stay long with his new regiment. In mid-1777, Warren deserted, along with other members of his company. [6] A reward of $10 was offered to whoever could find Warren. [7]
Unfortunately, the reasons surrounding Warren’s desertion and details of his life afterwards are unknown.
Cassy Sottile, Explore America Research Intern, 2019
Notes:
[1] Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 18, p. 24.
[2] Mark Andrew Tacyn, "To the End: The First Maryland Regiment and the American Revolution," (PhD diss., University of Maryland College Park, 1999), 34.
[3] Tacyn, 43-44.
[4]
Journal and Correspondence of the Maryland Council of Safety, July 7: December 31, 1776, Archives of Maryland Online, vol. 12, p. 346.
[5] Tacyn, 104.
[6]
“Forty Dollars Reward,” Pennsylvania Journal (Philadelphia), 2 June 1777.
[7]
“Forty Dollars Reward,” Pennsylvania Journal (Philadelphia), 2 June 1777.
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